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Am I the only one that isn't to thrilled about the possibility of Soriano? I mean, he hasn't pitched this year and if the Marlins sign him tomorrow, it would take three weeks at least before he is with a big league club. Just seems like a knee-jerk reaction when Cishek could figure it out, or someone else within the organization could strive in the closer spot.LHP Chad James-Jupiter Hammerheads-
5-15 3.80 ERA (27 starts) 149.1IP 173H 63ER 51BB 124K -
I'm not thrilled about it either. Is Soriano really a better option than Capps? He likely won't sign cheap either.Originally posted by Miamarlin21 View PostComment
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Capps has 10 walks in 13 innings in New Orleans right now. He's absolutely a better option than a guy trying to rebuild his pitching motion.
As far as money, as long as it's a one year deal, I don't really care. Not my money.Comment
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5 of those walks came in 2.2 innings. Otherwise, he has 5 in the other 10.1. Not ideal, obviously. But as MM21 points out, Soriano won't come in and pitch right away.Comment
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Has Capps fixed his delivery and able to repeat it yet?
Signing Soriano is absolutely a kneejerk reaction. If we sign him and lose a draft pick it'll be a horrible move. If a draft pick is not lost, it's a meh move. I'd rather see Wittgren or Capps. Any of the three are better options than Masset. (Hand too but he fills a different role than they would). Cishek is obviously not performing but the after that Dunn and Morris have been the worst relievers.Comment
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i have a problem with a franchise that constantly cries poor spending their money inefficiently. soriano would make the team better, but jesus, there are smarter ways to spend $5 million.poopComment
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[tweet]598522743001358336[/tweet]Comment
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http://www.csnphilly.com/baseball-ph...athan-papelbonThe perception exists that Jonathan Papelbon damages a clubhouse.
Not really the case.
Papelbon doesn't clash with teammates. At no point has any Phillie spoken out against him, and any mention of his name by a bullpen mate is followed by praise.
Negativity has surrounded Papelbon since he signed here, and it's not unwarranted, but it's also based on the context of the team. He's in a losing situation. He's explained how poorly that suits him. Most of the controversial comments he's made during his Phillies tenure have been related to a desire to pitch in more meaningful situations.
There's nothing wrong with wanting to be in a winning atmosphere pitching for a contender. It was one of the reasons Papelbon signed with the Phillies in the first place. He thought he'd be closing out well-pitched games by Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels. That never happened, as the Phils rapidly declined beginning in 2012, the first year of his contract.
So now, Papelbon remains on the trading block, where he has been for several years. The longer the Phillies hold on to him, the cheaper his remaining salary — previously a stumbling block — becomes. Papelbon earns $13 million this season, meaning an acquiring team would be on the hook for a little less than $4.5 million in 2015 salary if a trade goes down at the deadline. (The Phils' closer also has a $13 million option for 2016 that vests with 37 more games finished.)
But why should teams wait until the deadline if so many have needs at closer right now? Monday night was another ugly night for savers, with the Dodgers' Yimi Garcia and the Marlins' Steve Cishek blowing ninth-inning leads in Los Angeles, the Reds' Aroldis Chapman taking a loss, and Pirates closer Mark Melancon allowing a solo home run to Odubel Herrera in a game he entered with a two-run lead.
Few teams in baseball are completely comfortable with their ninth-inning situation. The Blue Jays are not. Neither are the Indians. The situations for the Pirates, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Dodgers and Rockies remain shaky. The Nationals' bullpen has performed adequately, but they lack the sort of depth they've had in recent years, and you've got to believe they'll address that at some point.
The most logical suitor for Papelbon right now, though, is the Miami Marlins.
Cishek has blown four of seven save chances this season, including two in a row. At 15-18, the Fish cannot keep throwing away ninth-inning leads.
Cishek, whose fastball velocity has dipped from 91.7 mph to 89.7 this season, according to Pitch/FX, is no longer a feared reliever. He is completely reliant on spotting his slider perfectly to get outs. And now the league is simply laying off his slider, just as it did with Brad Lidge when his fastball velocity declined. This isn't a fluky six-week period for Cishek. He legitimately looks unsuited for the role he filled admirably from 2012 to 2014.
Cishek has a 10.32 ERA this season and has put 23 men on base in 11⅓ innings. His swinging strike rate of 8.8 percent is the second lowest among all major-league closers. (The Tigers' Joakim Soria, who stepped in successfully for Joe Nathan, is the only closer in the game with a lower whiff rate, 6.9 percent.)
Papelbon, contrarily, has an 11.5 percent swinging strike rate. As much as his fastball velocity has decreased, Papelbon is still throwing 2 to 3 mph harder than Cishek. Papelbon also has better secondary pitches and much sharper command.
The Marlins are a team that spent a ton of money in the offseason on Giancarlo Stanton and surrounded their star with more talent by signing Mike Morse and trading for Dee Gordon and Dan Haren, Mat Latos, Martin Prado and David Phelps.
Miami has rebounded from a 3-11 start by hitting well and getting strong work out of starting pitchers Haren, Jarred Cosart, Phelps, and recently, Latos. Jose Fernandez is set to return from Tommy John surgery at some point this summer. The Fish will be cautious with their young ace, but he'll improve the staff and push them even closer to contention.
Right now, the intent in Miami should be to solidify the clear weakness of the team, the bullpen. And right now, Papelbon is the best available closer. He's still an elite reliever, with a 1.46 ERA this year and a 2.40 ERA in 181 appearances with the Phillies. His 9.7 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 are peripheral stats every team would like its closer to have.
The Phillies, knowing they're not going to contend in 2015 or 2016, should have no qualms about trading Papelbon to a division foe. It's unknown whether the Marlins have genuine interest in Papelbon at the moment — they're reportedly considering free agent Rafael Soriano — but they won't need to put together a premium package to convince the Phils to trade him within the division. They'd likely have to pay the same price as any other interested suitor.
For a few years now, no substantive offer has materialized to the point that GM Ruben Amaro Jr. found it worthwhile to trade Papelbon. You don't give away an elite reliever just to say you did.
Two mid-tier Marlins prospects who could make sense as return pieces in a Papelbon trade are outfielder Austin Dean and catcher Arturo Rodriguez. The Phillies' farm system is glaringly weak in corner outfield power and catching depth.
Dean is a 21-year-old corner outfielder who last year hit .308/.371/.444 with 33 extra-base hits in 99 games at Single A Greensboro. He's hit well to start the 2015 season at High A Jupiter.
Rodriguez is a 23-year-old catcher whom the Marlins signed out of the Mexican League. He's hit .324 with a .840 OPS at Single A in his first 28 games in the U.S.
Both players are far enough away from the majors that they wouldn't impact the Marlins' immediate future.
Just two lottery tickets to keep an eye on in case any substantive talks between the Phillies and Marlins take shape. Right now, there's no team that needs the Phils' closer more.
Dean and Rodriguez for Papelbon. Thoughts?Comment
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I don't see this weak marlins bullpen everyone keeps talking about. Cishek has gone Heath Bell on us but he's one of 7 guys in the pen. You can also worry about Dunn because his K's are down but it's a 12.1 IP sample size. Morris has been relatively unlucky this season. Ramos and Dyson have been studs so far. Hand is on mop up duty and has a 2.5 FIP. And Masset is somehow not giving up runs despite having a .357 BABIP and a K/9 of 5.19.
Other guys who have appeared are Phelps (1IP), Capps (1IP) and Urena(3IP). Capps didn't allow a run and should probably be in the pen now if his delivery is legal. I still don't understand why Urena was brought up to pitch in relief. And Phelps is being a stud in the rotation since then.
The problem is isolated at Cishek. You option him and bring up Capps and put Ramos at closer the pen is fine.Comment
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Marlins “no longer considering” Rafael SorianoYesterday several reports had the Marlins expressing interest in unsigned veteran closer Rafael Soriano, with the caveat that Soriano and agent Scott Boras were still holding out for a lot more money than Miami wanted to spend.
Apparently whatever interest was there is gone, because Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports that the Marlins “are no longer considering Soriano as a bullpen addition.”
It was seemingly a decent fit given that the Marlins just demoted Steve Cishek from the closer role and don’t have an obvious replacement, but Soriano continuing to ask for mid-offseason money in mid-May may have been a non-starter considering the 35-year-old’s second-half struggles last year.Comment
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Cishek is only 14 saves away from tying Rob Nenn to be the Marlins' all-time saves leader.LHP Chad James-Jupiter Hammerheads-
5-15 3.80 ERA (27 starts) 149.1IP 173H 63ER 51BB 124KComment
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Hand and Cishek have allowed 25 earned runs in 28 inningsOriginally posted by Jay View Post
Ramos, Dyson, Dunn and Morris have allowed 21 earned runs in 67 inningsComment
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Hand's given up runs but still has been valuable to the team and the numbers indicate he's better than his ERA looks. Also there's a big difference in roles in the bullpen. Hand's role is to log innings and for the most part he's done a good job in that role.Comment
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the fact his FIP went down after throwing BP last night is absolutely hilarious
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Anyway, we're 25th in bullpen ERA and we'd be 21st if you removed Cishek.Comment
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